by Cecilia Mureanu
In which city do you feel at home and what is the meaning of travelling for you?
My home is Saint Petersburg. Traveling is the unavoidable evil of my profession.
How important is for a musician the appearance on the stage (clothes, look) nowadays? Would it be possible for Clara Haskil to become a star of a great record label in the XXI century?
There is a traditional dress and it has a certain charm. Alas this tradition is not always observed nowadays.
How do you spend your free time and what are your hobbies?
Free time for me is a relative concept – I can never “switch off” completely. My hobby are books.
If it hadn’t been music, what other profesional field you would have chosen?
As a child I dreamt of becoming a painter. I still sometimes regret that this is not what happened.
Do you collect anything? Is there a domain, a specific activity that you like and in which you “escape”?
I used to collect old books. To escape I like to go to the mountains.
How do you succeed in dedicating yourself both to the private life (family) and to the profesional life?
The main thing for me is my profession.
Is classical music addressed to everyone or just to a small group of insiders? Is it an art that belongs to the elite? Do you consider that a special training is needed for “understanding” the message of this special kind of music?
Yes, serious art of any kind appeals to an elite. I don’t think it will ever change. It is important to be exposed to music early in life and to learn to listen and to feel music.
What would you recommend to a young man who wants to get closer to classical music?
Listen to any piece of music. Listen to the same work again and again. Above all do not try to understand music because it is not understandable.
Whose musician (composer or performer) disciple you would have liked to be? And why?
I have a particular respect for Carlos Kleiber and for Karajan.
Do you have any superstitions/ small rituals before starting a concert?
When I step onto the stage it is always with my left foot first.
Which was the most important event in your life, related to music?
When I heard Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in Leningrad.
Are there music pieces that you are interested in, that you like, but which you don’t think that you’ll sing/ play ever?
The oratorios of J.S. Bach.
What artist/musician from nowadays do you respect the most?
Many.
Do you listen to other genres of music also?
I like traditional jazz.
„Traveling is the unavoidable evil of my profession“
